1812Blockhouse

In 1872, entertainment history was made when the first large circus to travel by rail appeared in small and mid-sized communities across the Midwest. America’s Greatest Showman was behind the entire endeavor.

On June 22, that tour included a stop in Mansfield. The Greatest Show on Earth – a slogan used for the very first time in publicity for that very trip – came to town for three shows. Actually, it was more fully known as “P.T. Barnum’s Great Traveling Museum, Menagerie, and World’s Fair – consisting of museum, menagerie, aquarium, polytechnic institute, international zoological garden, and Dan Castello’s chaste and refined circus.” More…

Throughout its history, Richland County has produced or been the home to a wide variety of individuals that have made important contributions to the world. 1812Blockhouse has been sharing their stories in a series we started last year called “Richland Roots.” For other Richland Roots stories, click here.

Richland County has produced leaders in business, the arts, the military, education, politics, and civic life over its 200-plus years. Occasionally, that includes someone whose life story includes noteworthy activity in several of those areas. Such is the case with native Richland Countian James Sidney Robinson. More…

We continue our look at “Mansfield on the Map” by moving to the year 1854 and the publication of one of the first maps of Ohio to include rail lines, “Colton’s railroad & township map of the state of Ohio, drawn by George W. Colton, and engraved by J M. Atwood.”

The first completed rail line in Ohio was the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad. Construction began in 1835 in Sandusky and was completed through Tiffin, Kenton, and Springfield by the late 1840s. More…

Local New Year’s Eve revelers may have had a dry evening — once they made it inside, that is. Strong rain and high winds made travel somewhat difficult.

One hundred years ago, on December 31, 1918, the scene was somewhat similar in Mansfield. According to the News Journal published 100 years ago today, January 2, 1919, “Mansfield kicked off a year and a half of war restraint in giving 1919 a noisy welcome. New year’s eve was celebrated with more than ordinary noise and joyousness. More…

Updated with additional information. The competition was fierce early last century as Columbus, Alliance, Marietta, Toledo, Fostoria, Marion, and Mansfield vied for the prize – host city for the 1914 Ohio State Corn Show. At the 1913 show in Lima, the winner was announced, and Mansfield was chosen.

Amazingly, both the 1913 and 1914 Corn Shows took place in the dead of winter – mid to late January. Still, thousands attended such events. More…

The Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board met earlier this month at the Ohio History Center at I-71 & 17th Ave. in Columbus.

At the meeting, the board recommended nine proposed Ohio nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, either individually or as part of a National Register Historic District. The latter group included a several-block area of downtown Mansfield, labeled the “Downtown Mansfield Historic District,” roughly bounded by Fifth Street to the north, Diamond Street to the east, Second Street to the south, and Mulberry Street to the west.

Mansfield has had more exposure on national television this fall. This time, it’s the Ohio State Reformatory’s turn to be in the spotlight.

According to its website, the Science Channel’s series Mysteries of the Abandoned features “stories behind some of the world’s most amazing engineering marvels, why they were built, and why they were eventually no longer of use. Each story highlights the people who designed the structures, their significance, and why they were ultimately left to crumble.” More…

For the 34th time, the rooms and hallways of Oak Hill Cottage will welcome visitors wanting to turn back the clock and experience a vintage holiday.

The house, built in 1847 by railroad superintendent John Robinson, was characterized as “the one perfect Gothic Revival house in the country” by at one prominent architect. It was then owned for over a century by the family of Dr. Johannes Jones, and is now owned and operated by the Richland County Historical Society. More…

In honor of Halloween, we’re asking you to join us in a look behind closed doors in downtown Mansfield. These ghosts of the city’a past could be a vital part of an exciting future with some attention and investment.

In 2012, Downtown Mansfield, Inc. joined statewide organization Preservation Ohio in hosting the Forbidden City Tour. On a warm June afternoon, several downtown buildings, rarely open to the public, were available for tours. Hundreds attended. More…

The fact that the John Krause House sits where it does is something which has puzzled some historians.

The house was designed with strong Prairie Style influences, much as its two-block-away neighbor, the Rufus Kern House at number 608 Park Avenue West. These two houses were built in a style which was not often found on Midwest main streets, as the influence of architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright was considered a bit “modern” and not exactly mainstream. More…

The three story brick building currently being renovated in downtown Mansfield bears the name of its original owner and builder.

Dr. Mary Jordan Finley was a person of great note, not only for being a female physician at a time when such was relatively uncommon, but also based on her contributions to the community in which she lived. More…